Life in Sweden: Venice

It is our last day in Venice. We headed out of the hotel with the goal of doing a little shopping and exploring. Passing by a gondola station, we decided to take a ride. I think we would have regretted not going for a gondola ride. It was a great experience. The gondola went through the smaller canals that we had only seen from bridges. We passed our hotel from the canal side and could pick out our room since we had left the shutters open. The skill the gondoliers have is incredible. They got under bridges I would have said were impossible. Venice is slowly sinking so the bridges keep getting lower and lower. It is also the season of high water. During December and January the water level is so high that the gondoliers are unable to work. The high water also hinders the firefighters, police officers and ambulance crews, all who use boats to move around the city.

We then did a little shopping and walked through St. Marks Church again. It is just amazing the craftsmanship that has gone into the building. The museum was open so we went through it. It had amazing tapestries, mosaic fragments and sculptures.

On the boat ride back to the airport, we discovered our flight had been cancelled. At first they were unable to book us on another flight and we were waiting for hotel information. Then, they discovered a plane was still on the ground headed for Frankfort and we were booked to that flight. Arriving in Frankfort, there was no plane parking. After waiting on the runway for about 30 minutes we were transferred to a paved lot and rode a bus into the terminal. We ran for our Stockholm flight which they had announced as “on time” only to find out it was cancelled. After David waited in line for 5 hours, they closed the ticket counters before he got there. They had long since run out of hotel rooms within a two hour drive of the airport. They did give us a juice, water, and snack mix called “happy mix”. I wonder if it was supposed to improve our mood. It was a little frustrating to spend the night in the airport not knowing a plan for the next day. Thankfully while David waited, I have found a cart they used to move people around the airport. Ellie was able to lie down on the seat with her blanket and music box and sleep for about 4 hours. David and I were able to catch a couple of catnaps but it was a long night.